Clothing
by TinyDancer14
Summary: He loved her, with clothing or without. ZV one-shot.


**I _had_ to write this. I'm sure it'll get deleted and all, but I had to. I was really pissed off at Dane Cook, lol. Anyyyyway, review if you want. I'm not begging for them this time, hahaha. It's not my best work, I'm going to admit. But it's not awful either, ya know? I don't own these people, of course. So enjoy and review if you want, hahah. This story is for CERTAIN girls on a CERTAIN forum, haha. They know who they are- they asked for this. ;)**

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Clothing

Today really hadn't been her day.

Despite the fact that she and her boyfriend had finally been reunited after about a month or so of separation, Vanessa Hudgens was having an awful day, and now apparently it had just turned into an awful night as well. She hadn't felt well all day, she lost the dress she was going to wear to the Teen Choice Awards and had to settle for her second choice, and she only got to spend a measly few hours with said boyfriend. Now, it was all in vain. Hadn't she gone through enough? Was this really necessary? And was everyone out there just trying to bring her down?

It had been Zac's idea not to walk the carpet together. He had joked it was because he couldn't keep his hands off of her after so much separation- especially with her dress being _that_ short- but Vanessa knew the real reason was for her own protection. She didn't want to answer questions about the newly resurfaced photos of her. She didn't want to and she wanted it to look like she didn't _care_. Like all of this new bad publicity wasn't harming or affecting her in anyway. Truly, it didn't bother her as much as it did the first time. But she was still annoyed. It still irked her that someone out there wanted to bring her down.

And that's why _his_ comment hadn't helped at all.

Zac had disappeared somewhere temporarily and so she was stuck alone. Well, not _technically_ alone, but without Zac with her, she might as well be alone. They'd sat so close to each other throughout the show that they might as well have been on top of each other. Words and actions could not make up for lost time, though. At least not the subtle kind of actions. She knew; she spent nearly an hour trying to cover up the new hickey that rested on her neck- the real reason she was "late" that evening. And now Dane Cook took the stage, talking and rambling about God knows what. She didn't know, she didn't care.

But the next comment threw her off.

"Where's Vanessa Hudgens?" Dane asked, scanning the crowd.

Putting on her usual, cheery smile, she waved at him and he nodded, a mischievous grin on his face. And from that, she knew what he was about to say wasn't going to be pretty.

"Girl, you got to keep your clothes on!"

Her smile faltered. Her face fell. Everyone in the theater seemed to stop whatever they were doing- talking, giggling, breathing- to stare at her reaction. Dane Cook obviously thought he was hilarious. The audience wasn't so thrilled and thankfully, they were on her side. A few boos radiated from the crowd before he finished presenting his award and left the stage. Was she humiliated? Absolutely. Was she angry? Without a doubt. Was she shocked beyond belief? Ye- well, no actually. He was comedian, she'd made a humanly mistake so _of course_ he was going to make fun of her. But he didn't have to do it in front of nearly thousands of people.

The text from Ashley Tisdale came first. _Oh my God V, are you okay?_

Vanessa smiled. She loved her best friend. Turning around, she gave her friend a small smile before returning her message. _Sure. Who cares, right?_

The next text came from Aly Michalka. _Vanessa! You okay? I got your back!_

Aly was a sweetheart, Vanessa knew, and responded with, _Thanks Aly. I'm fine._

The third text was from Gaelan Connell. _What an asshole, Nessa. You want me to beat him up for you?_

This made her laugh. _No, thanks. You just got into the business- wouldn't want to start anything._

"Hey, did I miss anything?"

Vanessa glanced up and met the cool blue eyes of Zac Efron. There he was- now sitting beside her, the questioning stare still resting on his features- and completely oblivious to everything that had just happened to her. She stared at him, unable to speak, as she was overcome by so many emotions, though none of them were caused by him. Humiliation, shock, anger, hurt- they all rushed at her at breakneck speed. She didn't really know what to say. She didn't know what to say because honestly, she wasn't sure what she was feeling.

"I think," She started out slowly. "I think Dane Cook just called me a slut."

Zac stared at her in disbelief. "What?"

"He was up there, presenting, you know?" Vanessa elaborated. "And he asked where I was. So I waved at him and he told me that I had to keep my clothes on."

"He just came right out and said that?"

Vanessa nodded. "I believe his exact words were, 'Girl, you've got to keep your clothes on.'"

She was acting extremely calm for someone who'd just been publicly humiliated, but Zac was seething. _No one_ talked about her like that. "I can't believe he was allowed to say that! No one stopped him? God, I could hit him! No, I'll _kill_ him!"

Vanessa bit her lip. "You don't have to do that. I'm fine."

"Vaness, _no one_ gets away with talking to you like that," Zac turned to her. "What kind of boyfriend would I be if I just let that go?"

"The civilized one?" She offered quietly, even though she knew it was a rhetorical question.

Zac wrapped an arm around her shoulders. "Are you okay, babe?"

"I'm fine," Vanessa repeated, though it was very unconvincing. To the three friends she'd texted moments ago, she was perfectly fine. You couldn't really tell emotions through a twenty-word message on a cell phone. But to her boyfriend of three-almost-four-years? He knew she wasn't fine, no matter how much she insisted upon it. Zac waited for her to break down and tell him the truth, but she kept her eyes on the stage, staring straight ahead and not making eye contact with him.

"Oh sure you're fine," He said sarcastically. "And I'm _not_ going to go backstage and beat the shit out of Dane Cook."

"Don't, he's not worth it," Vanessa told him. "He's a comedian. It's his job to make fun of idiots and sluts who take naked pictures of themselves and-"

"Vanessa, stop," Zac interrupted her. "You are _not_ a slut, do you hear me? You're like the farthest thing from it."

She sighed. "Yeah, tell that to Dane Cook."

"Oh I intend to," Zac promised her. "Along with a few other choice words."

Vanessa giggled. "He'll appreciate that, I'm sure."

"I don't give a fuck what the guy appreciates," He was getting angry again just thinking about it. "He humiliated you, he made fun of you, he _insulted_ you! I'm so mad right now I could...! I could spit!"

"You don't need to spit, I'm fine." Vanessa assured him. "I just... when are people going to give up, you know? Like why does everyone need to see my downfall? Why is it funny to make fun of the pictures posted online? Why do people want to see me fail? And why is everyone _still_ on this? Why can't we just move on? These pictures were taken at least six years ago. Do people think I just do this for fun?"

Zac squeezed her even tighter to his body. "Vanessa..."

"Do people think I want to see my career go down the toilet?" She continued, feeling so secure in Zac's arms that she could admit this to him. "Do they think that I just walk around my house naked and hope and pray that some paparazzi will catch me?"

At this, Zac nearly laughed out loud. "No, but if you want to do that more often when I'm around, I would _not_ be opposed."

"You and your one-track mind," Vanessa teased. "I'm serious. I don't understand who in their right mind would _want_ to see someone fail so badly that they would do anything for it to happen. And I can't answer any of those questions I just asked. Can you?"

"Honestly, no," Zac told her and she exhaled, as if she was expecting an answer anyway. "But that's because the people that do this shit aren't in their right minds. They want your success, baby. They want the fame and fortune and since they can't have it, they decided to try and take yours away."

"It's not really the picture thing that pisses me off though," Vanessa admitted. "Because I've been through that before. It's what people are saying this time around. Last time, they were so shocked they didn't have much to say. Now, everyone's either calling me a whore or saying, 'God, she can't keep her clothes on,' or, 'I can't believe she did this _again_.' That's what annoys the crap out of me. What everyone's saying. And I try not to let it bother me, but God, when something like this happens, how can I not?"

Zac drew in a deep breath. "I completely understand. But you're so much stronger than that and you and I both know it. I love you-"

"I love you too," Vanessa told him without hesitation.

He smiled. "And so do so many other people. Your family, your friends, and your fans. Yeah, there'll always be haters. Who doesn't have them? But you are amazing. And it doesn't matter what they say, because you'll always be amazing. Nude pictures and all."

Grinning, Vanessa settled against him. "Why are you always so good at making me feel better?"

Zac shrugged. "Eh, who knows? We might never have answers to any of those questions, but do you really want them?"

Vanessa bit her lip again. "Actually, no."

"Plus," He added as an afterthought. "I don't really see your nude pictures as being a bad thing."

She looked up at him, a smile toying at her lips. "What?"

"Personally," Zac glanced right back at her naughtily. "I'm quite partial to your body. It's very sexy in clothing, but _much_ sexier without."


End file.
